The city on the bay

It's getting really cold here in San Fran that were finding ourselves hibernating by 8 pm. Not only that, but Ryan has caught some sort of flu (probably from that sneaky private taxi driver back in Orlando) and is resting up as much as he can. Although his cold never stopped us from exploring this beautiful city and what a better way to see the bay than to bike the coast, tandem bike.


Now this idea sounded great when we thought about it. There wasn't really much to decide on because I can't ride a bike, full stop. So this was really the only option, besides from walking. It started out with me panicking on the back peddles, only because I couldn't see a thing besides his backpack and the fact that he likes to ride really fast and swirve many times only made me even more nervous. I wanted to enjoy the view but all I could think about was the pain in my fingers gripping the handles so tightly and the fear of falling from the speed he was doing. So you can just imagine our conversations during the start of our route.

But eventually, after compromising on the speed and form of communcation if any while peddling, I started to calm down and breathe in the freshness and natural beauty of what was before us. The view was just amazing.

Why don't we have parks this beautiful locally?

At Crissy Park with the Golden Gate Bridge not too far away

At a rest stop admiring the view before us

San Francisco :-)

The view from a steep hill. You can't see it but there are families having bbqs along the bay

After the 3 hour tandem experience, we join in with the locals by laughing at people get scared by the man behind the bush lol!! (I was one of his victims)

Crab chowder in a bread bowl ...a must have! soooo goooooooooood!!

And our Alcatraz night tour was also quite interesting. Not as eerie as I had imagined (or compared to my visit to Mauthaussen in Austria...) but great to learn more about this little island on the bay, what it was used for and the escapes of Alcatraz.

On the Alcatraz cruise. What are you thinking bub?

The many cells

Inside one of the more isolated cells

:-P (It was actually dark in there)

When the inmates realised this was going to be their second home, some did it up a bit.. (and this inmate knew how to crochette @pink blanket lol!)

How the inmates escaped - made paper mache heads and chipped away the ventilation wall with a spoon

The Golden State

I’m not really sure of the date anymore or the correct time we live in. From the east side to the west side only two days ago, we’ve come from being a day behind to now being 3 hours behind. Our bodies can only adapt to the colour of the sky but I know when we go back home in 2 weeks, we’ll be completely stuffed. Yesterday was probably the only ‘day of rest’ we’ve allowed ourselves for this trip, having caught a really early flight, 6:55 am from Orlando to San Francisco; we pretty much slept through the entire flight and the rest of the day.

I’ve got to say though, if you had to ask me what kind of an American girl I’d call myself, I’d have to say I’m more of a west coast girl. Having spent 14 days in New York, 3 days in Washington and 5 days in Orlando, the only thing I’d really miss about the east side (or just New York – Washington DC and Orlando were great!!) is shopping, Central Park and Rockefeller Centre (for its wonderful memory I will never ever forget…). Other than that, NYC is too much of a busy place for me to survive in. Oh, I’d never forget the day the snow blizzard arrived that Boxing Day, when we met up with Rica, Ray and Jug for lunch at this awesome Japanese buffet place, as soon as we went outdoors, it started snowing – the nice, white Christmas kind of snow, the kind that makes you feel like running around making snowballs. But little did we know this snow actually caused the city a riot, being one of the worst snow blizzards in decades. The very next day (after celebrating that we actually had a white Christmas-ish in NYC) all the streets were covered in inches of hardened ice, pavements smothered in slush, cars embedded in snow fills and New Yorkers finding it extremely hard to go anywhere and do anything, it finally hit me that snow is a wonderful sight to see, but too much of it can get annoying. So annoying, that the next few days of this snow blizzard madness, I was beginning to wish the snow away because every single time we decided to go outside, my shoes would end up soaked and frosted; a feeling I’m not going to miss at all.

The start of the dreaded snow blizzard of 2010 at Herald Square.

On the way to the Comedy Club, feeling like a kid again with snow :-)

Before I let go of a negative vibe I’m starting to feel about NY once again (whenever I feel cold all I can think about is the death NY made me feel, walking through the busy streets and feeling frost bite in every single bone and muscle in my body, a cold so foreign to me I’m glad San Francisco is not so bad..) I’ve got to remind myself that it’s a new year and this calls for more positive thoughts. One more thing though, if someone ever tells you ‘wouldn’t it be a good idea to spend new years eve in Times Square’ I’m gonna tell you now, DON’T DO IT!!!! We never expected what we experienced that night. And we were prepared too – with VIP New Years Eve Passes that promised easy access around Times Square, with free drinks around bars and restaurants and a special area designated for all VIP pass holders to clearly see the ball drop. Did any of this happen? Just the free drinks – everything else was considered impossible by most of the police patrolling Times Square. Our passes were useless to say the least. So where did we spend the count down? Stuck at an exit hallway at Madame Tussauds.

The crowd at Times Square on New Years Eve, not packed enough...

With my childhood faves :P

So funny!

This ones for you Koko :-)

With Elton John hahaha..

The 6th N*Sync member

Ok, I was a bit negative there. We tried our best to enjoy the night together, and in fact we did – posing with the wax celebrities while drinking free Budweiser’s. To a more positive note, our train trip to Washington DC was great. It opened up my eyes to how this nation began, the hardships along the way and just how this country is striving for better. One of my highlights was during our night tour to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial, where I found myself at the very spot Martin Luther King did the famous speech ‘I Have a Dream’ and watching the sunset at the Ellipse. And to stay on a positive note, we spent our last day in NYC by walking the Brooklyn Bridge and seeing the city lights from Brooklyn at night.

At the Abraham Lincholn Memorial...we couldn't believe we were there.

At The Capitol

Martin Luther King stood right here...woah.

Watching the sunset at the Washington Monument :)

On the first day of 2011 and last day in NYC, we walked the Brooklyn Bridge

...and a last photo of NYC!!

Fast forward, 4 days ago I turned 24. I actually had to look for the number 4 key on my laptop just then. Although I may seem old, I wanted to spend my birthday feeling ageless, and what a better way to do so but to spend a whole day at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in the Orlando Island of Adventure Resort! The 1 hour wait to get in was worth every single minute. It was like jumping into the book and just being in a world surrounded by, well…wizards. The people who work here all play the role and dress in robes. You couldn’t imagine how excited I was. We started the day with lunch at The Three Broomsticks and a taste of frozen butterbeer – a mix of butterscotch and coke, maybe? But good stuff. I rode all the rides except for the Dragon Challenge which I left for Ryan to ride on his own as he is on a whole new level of brave compared to me. I’ve gotta say, the ride inside the Hogwarts Castle was the most amazing ride ever!! It felt like you were on a broomstick playing Quidditch, then all of a sudden being thrown around in the Whomping Willow – face to face with all sorts of humongous creatures, then flying around with Dementors!! I was actually freaking out because the Dementors get right up in your face and you can actually feel the cold too. This birthday is one I will never forget. Orlando Disney World and Universal Studios is a place I’m sure to add to my future places to visit.

After 1 hour in line, we finally made it!! :D:D at Hogsmeade!

Frozen butterbeer!!

Infront of the Hogwarts Castle!! :D:D

Browsing through Hogsmeade

For dinner I decided to give him something to smile about haha so we ate at the NBA City Restaurant :-P

After all the theme parks, we scrored ourselves another game at the Amway Center! Awesome stadium!!

Courtside seats (again) - GO MAGIC!! :-)

More recently, we arrived in San Francisco yesterday and spent this entire day on a hop-on hop-off bus. Having only been here for 2 days, I’ve slowly and have surely fallen in love with this beautiful city on the bay. One thing we’ve been looking forward to was to have fresh seafood by the pier and this was no disappointment; something we are planning to do every single day here. Although, I do regret one thing though, staying on the top deck of the tour bus for our two hour round trip as it was beyond cold up there! (Reminded me of NYC again…) but nevertheless, we survived and had the opportunity to see the Golden Gate Bridge. For the rest of the day, we hopped off at a strip on Haight and Ashbury where the young people like to hang out. I can totally understand why – great clothing stores, lots of little cafes and boutiques and a history of the hippie times. But as soon as it started to get dark, the atmosphere changed and I immediately felt like I was in Mt Druitt after hours – the homeless, drug dealers and people who talk to themselves came out of nowhere. Other than that, Haight Street is one of our favourite shopping strips; up there with Harajuku Street in Tokyo and Soho in New York.

I’m loving our stay in San Fran so far, so much I want to imagine ourselves back here one day.

Go the Giants!

It's a Sunday, a week before Christmas and we followed the crazy New Yorkers to the Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey to support the New York Giants verse the Philadelphia Eagles. This was our first time to watch a NFL game and it was awesome!! The moment we arrived in Meadowlands, we were greeted with the smell of tailgaters just like a typical pre-NFL game activity. If you were an Eagles fan, you’d be severely cursed metres before you could even reach the ticket entrance – New York fans are passionate people!! Our spot was right at the top, yep …right at the top deck (not a bad viewing spot too) but it was cold as I had never experienced cold before. Ok, so I said exactly the same thing about Toronto cold, but seriously this was cold!!! And we had to endure it for 2 hours. What got us heated up was laughing at the funny comments Giants fans make during the game, crack ups! Overall, it was a great sporting experience (not the cold though) for me, which now has gotten me all too excited for the Knicks game we’re watching in two days : )

At the Meadowlands Stadium, NJ :)

Our view from the very very top! The atmosphere was crazy!! (kinda reminded me of the Quidditch World Cup in HP#4...)

All rugged up, well trying to.

A painful loss for the Giants.. last 30 seconds and the Eagles score a goal. Now that's what you call a good game!

In concrete jungle.

Now, here in New York for only 2 days we’ve managed to visit Times Square and 5^th Avenue on a regular basis. Our subway route consists of using the express train to 42^nd street in Times Square and using our walking shoes to the best of its ability to roam around. The first day we arrived, we made it a mission to see Times Square and the moment I saw the bright lights, my jaw dropped – nothing in the world could be so flashy. My neck started cramping because I couldn’t stop looking up. It is true when they say NY is a city that never sleeps.

If you ever decide to visit NY, we strongly recommend you take the Manhattan Movie Tour. Our tour guide knew movies/shows back to front and for the entire tour all you could hear in the bus were tourists saying ‘Oh, that’s where it was’ hehehe. Of course, my highlight on this tour was the FRIENDS apartment at Bedford St – you can’t imagine how excited I was only because this is one of my ticks of the trip (if you are a FRIENDS fanatic, you’d know what I mean). I was really disappointed to hear the ins and outs of filming a show set in NYC because they can really fool you to believe many things (one which I will not mention here for you FRIENDS fans) so don’t believe everything television tells you? Oh yes, a giddy moment was when we were driving down 5^th Avenue and the tour guide quickly says, ‘And on your left is the Trump Tower’ – Ryan and I immediately grabbed each other by the arm and shook each other like maniacs!! Lol …we love The Apprentice, that’s all.

A FRIENDS fanatic dream.

After the tour, we decided to walk down 5^th Avenue in time to go to mass at 5.30 pm at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. What a great homily, very affirming. The priest gave us homework, he said ‘Remember, this season is about the obedience of faith, applying faith in every aspect of your life’. : ) During mass all I could think about was ‘how did we ever end up here, in this Cathedral, in this city together? And even until now it’s hard to imagine how an idea of coming here is now our reality and God has affirmed us– He will grant your hearts desire : ) I am in awe at God’s goodness and peace.

After mass, we roamed 5^th Avenue in search for the most-awaited NBA store, but before we actually got there, we were pushing through hundreds of shoppers, tourists and bystanders on this crazy season. It kinda reminded me of the rush at the Easter Show showbags hall. Police had to close pedestrian crossings to let cars through because this crazy crowd would just not stop. Ah, pre-Christmas madness. Eventually, we managed to get to the NBA store where I was shopping with an overly excited boy. So much merchandise to buy – this is definitely the gate to heaven for basketball fans, like this one.

Remember, when in New York, always wear comfortable shoes, a beanie and gloves.

Oh, Canada.

Yes, we’re here, where dreams are made of. Actually, it’s more of Ryan’s dream on his bucket list. Before I rant about what tourists do on a visit to New York, I just want to say a big thank you to Tracy for letting us stay at her apartment in Toronto. One of the highlights (actually two highlights..) of our Toronto detour was the drive down to see the Niagara Falls. You see this spectacular waterfall in many posters, movie scenes and backdrops and here we were only meters away. The temperature must’ve been –something degrees because we couldn’t feel our fingers during the entire tour, but it was so worth it! It is definitely one of the world’s wonders and God did a pretty good job at it.

Beautiful falls!

During the tour we visited one of Toronto’s finest winery’s and tasted Icewine for the first time. We liked it that much that we bought two bottles to bring back home!

Later on in the evening, as we farewelled the lovely Aussie family we toured with for the day, we managed to score ourselves a NBA game – Raptors vs Bulls at the Air Canada Centre. The atmosphere was awesome. Bulls took it home tonight and we were happy : ) The very next day, Tracy took the day off and took us around to the Harbourfront. Too bad I can’t ice-skate (maybe it’s a sign I should learn?). For dinner, (and this is the second highlight) we ate at an eatery known for its famous Buffalo wings, and hands down the BEST we’ve ever had!! Hooters has nothing. Overall, we had a great time in Toronto and will definitely miss the snow.

Ryan had his little moment :P

At the Raptors stadium in Air Canada.

Tracy and I at the ice-rink at the Harbourfront. The CN Tower is behind too :)

Having the best buffalo wings ever!!!